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VERIZON LTE-POWERED HP CHROMEBOOK 11 REVEALED, RETAILS FOR $379

The HPChromebook 11 has had an interesting ride through life since being released back in October. First, sales were initially halted after multiple users reported problems with the charger, which, in some cases, was melting during normal use. Eventually, sales resumed, with Google offering to replace Chromebook 11 chargers for free. Now, barring any more melting mishaps, things are looking up for the lightweight laptop.

HP and Google just released an LTE-only version of the HP Chromebook 11, opting to offer a flavor of their cheapie Chrome OS-powered notebook with LTE cellular broadband connectivity in addition to Wi-Fi. (It cannot, however, connect to 3G wireless.) Altair Semiconductor announced that its FourGee-3100/6202 chipset will be stuffed into the revamped Chromebook 11, allowing users to connect to (and only to) Verizon Wireless. A Chromebook 11 data subscription will cost users an extra $10 to maintain, on top of the $379 price for the Chromebook itself. However, Altair Semiconductor says that discounts for activating the device will bring the price down to $329, though that’s still $50 more expensive when compared with the $279 Wi-Fi only version.

Weighing a mere 2.3-pounds, the LTE HP Chromebook 11 includes a Samsung Exynos processor clocked at 1.7 GHz, an 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 display, 2GB of RAM, a 16GB SSD, 802.11 Wi-Fi and a pair of USB 2.0 ports. These specs are identical to the Wi-Fi-only version of the HP Chromebook 11.

Considering that the Chromebook 11 includes only 16GB of storage and relies on consistent Internet access to reach its full potential, adding LTE to it makes a lot of sense. That said, with the higher price and the monthly data charges, it’ll be interesting to see how consumers respond to the updated HP Chromebook 11 given the higher cost of ownership both in the short and long term. Consumers could always go for the LTE version, rely on Wi-Fi connectivity and merely have the option to add an LTE subscription at a later date.